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Asbury Equine Students Receive Prestigious Scholarship Awards

December 10, 2018

Three Asbury University equine students were honored by the USA Equestrian Trust during a ceremony on Dec. 5. Clara Quade ’20, Lacey Swaidner ’19 and Matt Sagan ’19 were presented with scholarships in the amount of $1,500 in recognition for their achievements through the Asbury University Service Mounts program.

The awards were presented in the Andrew S. Miller Center for the Communication Arts by Harold Rainwater, the Equine Program director, and Fred Sarver, a director for the USA Equestrian Trust.

The winners were selected from a pool of seven applicants from Asbury. Selections were made based on need, participation in a team atmosphere, personal involvement and dedication to the Service Mounts program.

The purpose for the scholarship is to provide recognition for efforts made in dedication to the field of equine training and preparation, and to provide incentives for students to become service mount trainers in the future. Learn more about Asbury’s Service Mounts Program!

“It’s a way to recognize upperclassmen for their commitment and the effort they put into the program,” said Sagan, one of the award winners. “To me, it’s as if someone is telling me, ‘Hey, Matt, you’ve done a good job.’”

To Sagan, the effort that he puts in is more than just a hobby or interest. He spends hours outside of classes at the Equine Center, putting in the dedication and effort that it takes to properly prepare a horse for its life in a real-world police department.

“I’ve done all the extra hours,” Sagan continued, “I’ve gone to clinic after clinic, events, reached out to officers to ask what I can do better in terms of training so I can find new ways to train our horses — doing what we can to make them more beneficial to police officers and their respective departments.”

Rainwater echoed the statement of students’ efforts. “These guys put in incredible effort outside of classes,” Rainwater said. “They train the horses from the very beginning, and are with them through the entire training process. If we could honor the work of all the students in the equine program, we would do so.”